The Olympic Games are just about to start in France. Around 10,500 athletes are gearing up to compete across lots of different sports. Millions of fans will also be there to cheer for the competitors.
The history of the Games
The first known Olympic Games took place in 776BC, 2,800 years ago, at Olympia in southern Greece. To begin with, the Games were held in honour of Zeus, the king of the gods in ancient Greek religion. Some early Olympic sports, including sprinting and the javelin (throwing a spear), are still events today. Others, such as racing in chariots (two-wheeled vehicles pulled by horses), were dropped long ago.
The Romans – who once ruled Greece – banned the Olympics in the year AD393. It was more than 1,500 years before the Games returned; the first modern Olympics taking place in Athens, the capital of Greece, in 1896. At the following Olympic Games, in Paris in 1900, women were allowed to compete for the first time. The Olympic Games have been held in the UK three times – in 1908, 1948 and 2012. Every time, London was the host city (the games were based there). The famous Olympic rings, first used in 1913, represent all the inhabited continents (North and South America are combined) and show that athletes from all over the world meet at the Games.
When and where are this year's Games?
The 2024 Olympic Games are being held in France. Most of the events will take place in Paris, the country’s capital, but other French cities will host some sports, such as shooting and football. Surfing, which made its debut at the last Olympics, will take place on Tahiti, an island in the Pacific Ocean that is partly governed by France.
The opening ceremony is on 26 July. It will be the first-ever Olympic Games opening ceremony to take place outside a stadium and will be held along the River Seine, which runs through the city of Paris. Each country will have its own boat with athletes on board for a colourful 3.7-mile parade along the river.
Although the ceremony will be the official start of the Games, events will actually begin earlier than this – there will be football and rugby matches on 24 July, as well as other events on 25 July. The Olympics will finish with a closing ceremony at the country’s national stadium, Stade de France, which is just outside Paris, on 11 August.
Over the course of the Games, the world’s top athletes will battle it out to win gold, silver and bronze medals (for first, second and third places). The huge variety of events that will be on show – swimming, running, horse-riding, javelin, archery, table tennis and more – means there will be something for everyone to enjoy.
New for Paris 2024 Olympics
Breakdancing will be appearing at the Olympics for the first time. Also known as “breaking”, it is an energetic style of street dancing that became popular in the US in the 1970s. Dancers will compete in one-on-one contests and judges will decide the winners.
There will be new additions to the water sports, too, including kiteboarding. This is an event where competitors stand on a board while a large kite pulls them across the water. Kayak cross is also making its Olympic debut. There will be two stages: a time trial and a race. The race will see four boats pushed off a ramp and paddled furiously along a course to try and cross the finish line first. Which sport will you be watching?
Athletes to watch out for
• Simone Biles, USA| Gymnastics
- Biles has won seven Olympic medals so far in her career
• Sky Brown, Great Britain |Skateboarding
- Brown qualified for the 2020 games aged just 12
• Neeraj Chopra, India| Javelin
- Chopra won gold at the 2020 games
• Léon Marchand, France | Swimming
- Marchand is a rising swimming star
• Shericka Jackson, Jamaica | Sprinting
- Jackson has won five Olympic medals
• Josh Kerr, Great Britain|Middle-distance running (1500m)
- Kerr is the 1500m world champ
Recent updates
This feature was originally published in July 2024 in The Week Junior, which is also owned by Future Publishing.
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